(old) A New Leaf
by NarutoWriter2017
Summary: [Rewritten in the 'A New Leaf' Story] The Fourth Shinobi War has ended. Kaguya was sealed, and the world is saved. But what if Sasuke never returned to the village? What if the world has old and new threats? NaruSaku and more character pairings. Rated M for Language/Violence, maybe some lemons in the future.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I don't own Naruto, Naruto: Shippuden, or any of it's characters. All Original Characters however, are my own work.

 _Italics: Thoughts of characters._

 **Bold: Ninjutsu**

* * *

 **A New Leaf**

Chapter I

 _Springtime,_ Shikamaru thought, as he was walking through the path in the forest. _Has it already been a year?_ A brisk wind grew, and Shikamaru noticed something fall to the ground. _A new leaf? Must be_ _the wind… what a pain._ The genius shinobi let out a deep sigh, and walked onwards to the main gate of the village he called home. _Wind_ , _and I thought I left her in Suna._

"H-Hey, it's Shikamaru!" greeted the village's gate guards Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane, the inseparable pair.

"Oh… hi Kotetsu, Izumo," Shikamaru replied back.

"What's new with Suna?" Izumo asked.

"Oh... nothing in particular. The Kazekage is planning on enhancing the villages technology, making trade deals, the boring tidbits. It _is_ troublesome, really."

Shikamaru stepped into his village after passing the enormous gates for the first time in a year. Being the ambassador to Sunagakure made him realize how much he missed the refreshing grass and air that Konoha offered.

He sighed. _Now that I am home on leave, it seems I might be bored. How troublesome._

Shikamaru's boredom, however, was put on hold. His jaw slightly dropped, as he saw that Konoha had easily surpassed Suna in its attempt to enhance itself technologically. Off in the distance, he easily spotted the Hokage Rock, and behind it, tall skyscraper-like structures were on their way to being built, modeled after scaffoldings in their absence.

Shikamaru laughed, _It seems like the Fifth really stepped up while I was gone, or maybe it's because she had some help..._

* * *

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" called out the blonde sannin, looking at a stack of papers on her desk.

 _So much work to get done. Six years at this job, and yet there is still so much work left._

Through the doorway, Kakashi, the copycat ninja, entered.

"Lady Hokage-sama," Kakashi bowed, "the final preparations for the skyscrapers above the Hokage Rock are in place. I have received the daily check in sheet from the village gate, stating that Shikamaru Nara has returned from Sunagakure as you requested, and…" Kakashi, with a frown that was easily noticeable underneath his mask, sighed, "Sasuke Uchiha has not yet been found."

The cutting sound of wind could be heard just outside the window.

"Very well. Kakashi, your duties as understudy to the Hokage has been exemplary. After we are done here, take a few days off and report back to this office."

The blonde sannin looked out across the village from her desk. She had only been the Hokage for six years. _To think my legacy as a Hokage would be the destruction of the leaf and the Fourth War. Is this what a Hokage endures?_ She quickly shook that thought from her mind. She _had_ to stay clear from thoughts that would bring the office down.

"There is another problem, Lady Hokage-sama," Kakashi started, "We have received reports that there has been increased activity within Otogakure…"

The Sannin looked up with a surprised expression. After the continual peace after the war, she thought her once colleague would've stopped trying to wage chaos and destruction.

She exhaled. With a slight disdain, she began to speak, "how certain is the intel?"

"It's credible, it is from the reestablished spy network that Lord Jiraiya-sama formed, which was put back into place by Naruto. Iwagakure has already sent it's ANBU battalion to the area. However, we should gather more intel before proceeding with anything too drastic."

"I agree. The Alliance will be more than gladly to assist us, since Iwa has already committed their forces. Have Shikamaru report to the office later. Dismissed."

Kakashi bowed and exited the office. _Naruto's new spy network has helped us extremely. I should…_ Kakashi collided with a purple haired kunoichi, not realizing where he was walking.

"Kakashi-san?" the purple haired kunoichi questioned.

Kakashi looked back up at the female figure standing in front of him. She was wearing a cat-like mask with three red stripes on the facial cover.

"Is that you, Yugao?" Kakashi replied back with a slight grin.

"Hai. It is." Yuhao stated. Her face, underneath her mask, became pink with embarrassment from causing the collision.

"Well," Kakashi said,"I should be more careful next time. What are you doing here?"

"I've come to reactivate myself into the ANBU Interrogation force. I figured that Hayate would've been okay with it. It has been quite awhile since he has passed, and I feel better about coming back."

Kakashi noticed that she had significant growth from her training the last two years. _It is a shame that Hayate passed all those years ago,_ Kakashi thought to himself.

"Well, good luck on your readmittance into ANBU, Yugao," Kakashi said in his nonchalant demeanor as he walked past her.

 _Now I can go home and relax. What a relief._ Kakashi thought with a chuckle, _I haven't had a day off since the end of the war._

* * *

The sound of kunai clashing against each other could be heard in the distance. Amongst these sounds were three wooden logs, upright against the ground, which could be seen from the numerous trees of the famous forest surrounding Konoha. It was the third training ground, where the infamous bell tests of Hiruzen Sarutobi and Kakashi Hatake were administered.

The blue sky was dimmed by a whirl of shuriken buzzing by.

"Close one there, Naruto!" a pink haired kunoichi said as she quickly dodged the incoming assault from the shuriken.

Naruto smirked, "Sakura-chan, you forgot about the wind chakra links to them!"  
As soon as the blonde shinobi pointed out one of his simplest moves, the shuriken reached around and came directly at the Haruno kunoichi. She escaped the moving shuriken by substituting a wooden log in her place as the shuriken hit.

"Like I said, Naruto, close one," Sakura stated as she tightened up her fingerless gloves.

"Now how about you dodge this?"

Her hand clenched together to form a fist, and blue chakra rippled to her hand. Shattering the ground beneath her, she punched the earth, causing hundreds of small rocks and debris to rise in the air. Quickly spotting a sizable boulder, she likewise punched the gigantic rock. Fragmented chunks began flying towards the blonde.

 _Shrapnel_ , Naruto thought, as tiny rocks went through his body.

A white cloud of smoke appeared, signifying a shadow clone that was destroyed. Sakura began to pant fiercely. They were at this since before the sun rose.

Quickly, Sakura glided over to the lake that was in the training ground.

 _Well, if the shrapnel didn't work, let's try some ninjutsu,_ Sakura thought.

Sakura shouted out her water style attack, " **Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu**!"

"Alright," The blonde leapt out from behind one of the trees in the distance, "let's get serious, then!"

Naruto took a huge breath of air, and suddenly performed the bird hand seal.

" **Fūton: Fūdan no Jutsu**!"

The Air Bullet blasted from Naruto collided with the Water Bullet from Sakura. The collision ended up making the water bullet burst, and it drenched the area where they were standing at.

Forming a bird hand seal, " **Fūton** — eh?" Naruto questioned as he was interrupted by the kunoichi.

"Naruto, wait!" Sakura hurriedly tried to say.

Naruto stopped in his tracks, unsure about what was going to happen. It was unlike Sakura to stop training.

"What's wrong, Sakura-chan?" asked Naruto.

"I am almost out of chakra. I think that's enough training for today, don't you think?"

"Sakura-chan, you know I would love to go get some ramen right about now, but Sasuke is still out there!"

"Naruto, he voluntarily decided not to come back. You can't keep thinking about Sasuke like he is in danger. He is one of the strongest shinobi in the world."

"I still have a promise to fulfill," Naruto said as he looked into the emerald eyes of his teammate.

Sakura stared back. "You completed that promise a year ago, Naruto! You saved Sasuke from his clan's curse! You offered him redemption and he didn't take it."

With wide eyes, Naruto looked first at Sakura, then down at his feet, almost in tears.

"I tried Sakura-chan, I really tried. But he wouldn't come back with me."

Sakura noticed the amount of pain coming off of Naruto. She took a step forward and embraced her whiskered teammate.

"I know, Naruto. I know. Don't let Sasuke's choice affect you like this. Afterall, he isn't being influenced anymore. Orochimaru, Madara, Zetsu, they are all gone. It was his decision for all the horrible and cruel things he had committed."

Holding out their embrace, Sakura noticed that this was the first time in the last year that they had emotionally connected together since the war. A look of guilt came upon her face. _Naruto has had feelings for me for all these years, and all I have ever wanted was his best friend, who has betrayed the village, our team, and even myself…_

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto started off.

"Yeah, Naruto?" Sakura replied.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan. That means a lot to hear you say that. Is my promise officially completed?"

With a tearful laugh, Sakura answered, "Naruto... of course you finished the promise. It has been done for the last year."

* * *

Naruto and Sakura had just entered the Icha Icha Tavern, so named from the infamous books Jiraiya penned. There, the two teammates met up with Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuga, Choji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka, Tenten, Rock Lee, and Shino Aburame, forming an incomplete Konoha 11.

"Ah! So Shikamaru has finally arrived from out of town, eh Ino?" Choji asked with a childish grin on his face.

The blonde kunoichi became beet red as embarrassment flushed her face. She angrily looked over at her teammate.

"So what if I knew he was back in town already? That doesn't prove anything, Choji!"

Naruto looked over to his friends with a confused expression. _Why did Ino-san get so defensive over knowing Shikamaru was in town?_

Sakura looked behind her towards Naruto, who was following her into the tavern.

"Why don't we get a drink to celebrate today's training, Naruto?"

"Thanks, Sakura-chan, I'll take a bottle of sake." Naruto looked over to see his friends at a large table.

"I am going to head over to the table where everyone is at."

Naruto walked over to the other shinobi with a big smile. His cerulean eyes wide with excitement that he could enjoy the night with his friends.

"Hey guys! Why'd you want us to meet here?" the blonde fox asked.

"You didn't hear?" Choji asked. "Shikamaru is finally back in town."

"What? That's amazing, living in Suna for a year." Naruto replied.

"He probably just wanted to be there for the Kazekage's sister." Kiba amusingly said.

"Yeah, right. Shikamaru would never fall for someone like that" Ino responded with a scoff.

"I bet Shikamaru will have amazing stories of youth to tell us when he gets here!" Lee stated enthusiastically.

 _Lee, don't make a scene right now_ , Tenten thought with hope.

"Why don't you ask him," a voice asked from across the room.

The shinobi looked up at the direction of the voice. A skinny, tall, and slumped man who had a cigarette in his mouth walked over to the table.  
"Well now, don't be like that to a friend."

Naruto pounced over to the figure and gave him a big huge.

"Shikamaru, buddy, I missed you!"

Shikamaru began to sigh. _Naruto is still as troublesome as he was in the Academy._

"Hey Naruto, how are you?"

Naruto's face became disdainful. "Where do I even begin? Well, they placed me as a Tokubetsu Jōnin, and I actually have to study to become a full fledged Jōnin," Naruto exclaimed with a pout.

Shikamaru chuckled as the man in front of him became sorrow filled at the fact that he was not a Jōnin. Shikamaru figured he was lucky that he was promoted after he took the Jōnin exam, but was surprised when Tsunade had given him the ambassador assignment. He found it troublesome to be away from all his friends and family, but it was his duty to the village. He would not let his father's sacrifice go for nothing, as he was sure to live up to his recognition.

Sakura came to the table with some sake and two cups as she sat down next to Naruto and began to pour the liquid content into the cups.

Not wanting to see Rock Lee in his drunken stupor, Tenten decided that they would exchange pleasantries with the newly arrived ambassador and leave the pub before things got to out of hand.

"She took Neji's death extremely hard," Hinata said after Tenten and Lee left.

"We all did," Sakura replied.

"Not as hard as she did. She grew to have a close bond with Neji being her partner, and Lee is there to fill the void."

Naruto took a quick swish of the drink before looking up at Hinata.

"If Lee and Tenten are happy, then that is all that matters at this moment."

The room was silent save for Choji's chewing of the pork barbeque in front of him. Many did not want to think back to the slaughter of countless lives in the past year. After awhile, normal conversation began again, and the war heroes took their time.

Before anyone knew, it had gotten dark and it was a couple hours after midnight.

"Well, I guess I will be heading out then," Shikamaru stated, nodding to Naruto in a sign of acknowledgement, as Ino and Choji went with him.

"Hinata, Kiba, and I will leave too, thanks for bringing us together tonight, Sakura," the bug user exclaimed.

Sakura slumped back into her seat and collapsed onto Naruto's shoulder from the drunken stupor she was in. Six hours of drinking, laughing, and crying with her friends did little to relieve her of what was going on in her head. _Was this attempt at Sasuke's affection worth it? He isn't even here, and he tried to kill me several times. Is he even capable of love? What even is love?_

Naruto yawned and looked over at the bartender who pointed to the clock on the wall suggesting that it was almost closing time. Hearing Sakura starting to snore, Naruto picked her up and began to leave the Icha Icha Tavern.

The blonde teen gently opened the side window of the Haruno house. After opening it, he quietly went in with Sakura in his arms and placed her onto her bed and quickly tiptoed his way out as he shut the window behind him.

* * *

Shikamaru lit a cigarette as he started walking home. Seeing his friends again made him happy, but the happiness soon faded away as he remembered his old sensei. Asuma would surely kick his ass for adopting his smoking habits, and would tell him that he is a fool for not pursuing Ino or Temari as vigorously as Kiba might.

Shikamaru audibly sighed, as a whirlwind of leaves came in front of him, and Kakashi appeared, using **Shunshin no Jutsu**.

Kakashi waved his hand in an amusing way, "Hey, Shikamaru, long time no see."

Shikamaru nodded, knowing that there was something more than just a greeting for Kakashi to appear in front of him.

Kakashi resumed, "Lady Hokage-sama would like to see you. Further developments have occurred between the five nations."

"How troublesome," Shikamaru lazily replied as he scratched the back of his head. "I will go see her."

* * *

A/N:

This is my first fanfic EVER. I would just like to ask to give me your honest opinions when reviewing! It means a lot, and shows so much support when you guys do it! I am a huge fan of the NaruSaku ship, and I honestly believe Kishimoto messed up when he didn't pair the two off. They have, other than Naruto and Sasuke, one of the strongest relationships/bonds in the whole series if you look at it objectively in my opinion. I really believe that Sasuke should have never ended up with Sakura, and that he should've be 'punished' by Kishimoto for abusing her mentally and physically. But we all know how Kishimoto writes females...

* * *

 **"Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu"**

Water Release: Water Bullet Technique

" **Fūton: Fūdan no Jutsu** "

Wind Release: Wind Bullet Technique

" **Shunshin no Jutsu"  
**

Body Flicker Technique


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I don't own Naruto, Naruto: Shippuden, or any of it's characters. All Original Characters however, are my own work.

 _Italics: Thoughts of characters._

 **Bold: Ninjutsu**

* * *

 **A New Leaf**

Chapter II

A falcon soared ahead out from the forests that were on the edge of the Land of Fire. A cloaked man, who wore dark black hair, drooping over his left eye, held his right arm out when spotted the falcon holding a messenger pocket on it's leg. The falcon swooped down onto the arm, allowing the man to open the pocket and retrieve the message.

"S,

The team has managed to track him to Amegakure. He isn't wanted by the five major villages anymore, but Konoha would like for someone to reach out to them on his whereabouts and where he is hiding, probably wanting to track him down. Because of this, we think it is beneficial not to reveal where he is at at the moment, so you can get as much information and knowledge as possible before we can cash in on the reward from Konoha.

We have an informant who knows how to reach where he is hiding. He is located in one of the inns on the outskirts of Amegakure. You have to ask him a specific question to get him to lead you to where one of the hideouts is located.

With this in mind, we wonder why you chose to go alone. You were always so sulky that we thought the end of the war might've changed you up a bit. Respond so we know you received the message.

~T"

The man performed a set of hand seals and fire came from his mouth to quickly burn the letter, leaving no trace of the contents.

He reached into his pocket to pull out a piece of bread. He tore it apart and fed the crumbs to the falcon so that it would wait nearby. Eating the rest of the item, he put his arm into the pouch once more and pulled out a notepad, ink, and ink pen and began to craft a response letter.

"T,

Acknowledged.

~S"

Feeling content with the response, he folded it and placed it inside of the falcon's messenger pouch, and flung his arm out, which caused the falcon to be sent off into the air and began walking towards Amegakure.

* * *

The constant rain the cloaked man felt as he was walking toward the village gate was unnerving. The dark, gloomy clouds were at a stand still, and there were five shinobi guards stationed at the gate, wearing grey flak jackets with no scroll pouches, and pinned to their flak jackets were shoulder guards. They all featured rebreathers on their faces.

As the cloaked man walked up to the checkpoint, two of the guards appeared in front of him.

One of the guards questioned, "what is your purpose by being here?"

The cloaked man eyed the guard. Not caring what would happen, the cloaked man nonchalantly responded, "I have an appointment with someone in the village."

"An appointment?" the second guard began to laugh comically. "What appointment could you possibly have?"

"That is not your concern," the cloaked man replied.

"Oh it isn't? You can't get past here without your name, reporting where you will be, and what you will be doing. Amegakure is not known to be so open to outsiders."

"Call me what you want, I have an appointment to get to. I will not tell you with whom I am meeting, or where. If you do not want to get hurt, I suggest you get out of my way."

The cloaked man was getting impatient. The constant rain didn't make things better, either. He added, "you will let me enter freely, or I will find another way in."

The two guards who confronted the man drew kunai from their back pouches.

"We cannot allow you to enter with threats like that."

"So be it."

The man pulled a lightweight sword from a scabbard on his right side underneath his cloak.

"Let's dance then," the man holding the sword taunted.

The two guards leaped back to where the other guards were and formed a chevron formation.

The man threw off his cloak, revealing a light grey vest with an Uchiha fan logo on the back, overtop a dark grey long sleeved shirt. He had black gloves that matched the color of his pants.

Four of the guards stepped forward and did a combination of hand seals.

" **Suiton: Suikōdan no Jutsu** ," the four guards yelled out as four shark-like figures of water came thrusting upward and to the now uncloaked man.

Almost immediately after the four guards stepped forward, the fifth guard in the back of the formation slammed his palms to the ground and shouted, " **Doton: Dosekidake**." Four large spikes shot out of the ground around the man, which attacked in separate directions.

Seeing as he was trapped in the center, the black haired shinobi activated his left eye as it begun to shine purple as time slowed and the man switched places with his cloak in an instantaneous motion.

"How were you able to dodge our attacks?" The guards, trembling, asked in unison.

"Like I said at the beginning, all I require is entry into the village. I will not harm you," the shinobi stated as his right eye spun red with three tomoe.

"You? You are Sasuke of the Sharingan, last member of the Uchiha!" The guards exclaimed before they fell to the ground caught in a Sharingan genjutsu.

Sasuke picked up his cloak, and wrapped it around to wear it once more, and walked into the village.

* * *

Sasuke entered the industrial village of Amegakure. The constant rain coupled with the tall buildings provided a sinking feeling within. He could relate to this village. The pain of loss, torture, and tyranny was felt by almost every person who had lived here.

While walking into the first area of the Village, Sasuke heard an unfamiliar sound. He closed his eyes to try to pinpoint where the sound was coming from, but could not detect it, until he heard it again, coming right below him, from his stomach. He was getting hungry. _I should really go eat, it has been days since I have had food._

Sasuke calmly went over to a restaurant which had a special going on for sushi from the look of the sign. As he entered the restaurant, some of the staff looked up to see someone enter the room, giving him a dirty and unwelcoming look.

"Outsiders are not welcome in here."

"I have the money to pay. I just want a decent meal."

"Even if Outsiders have money, they are not welcome here."

Sasuke scoffed at the staff, but ultimately chose to leave the restaurant. I am already in the village, there is no need to draw any attention.

As he was leaving, he was able to pick up some cheers from the patrons of the restaurant who were applauding the way the staff handled him, the outsider. What despicable people. They know nothing of what an outsider truly is, Sasuke thought, recognizing the anguish of the village around him.

He looked down to his arm to check the time. I will be late to my meeting if I do not find the rendezvous point.

Sasuke scanned his surroundings. Most of the inns had closed signs, and even then, some were not on the outskirts of the village. Sasuke sighed. This would be a time consuming hunt for the right inn. All he could hope was that he found it in time.

* * *

Sasuke Uchiha stood in front of a small counter. There are only a small number of inns still staffed in Amegakure, the man hypothesized, since the Fourth Shinobi War ended most hostilities between countries. Because of that, refugees became almost non-existent, and the need for an inn in a place like Amegakure was seldom.

A door opened behind the counter, and a short old man appeared from the doorway.

"How can I help you?"

"I'm here to rent a room for tonight."

"Any preferences?"

The last of the Uchiha's eyes narrowed for a moment.

"A room that has a view, but can't see the moon from the reflection across the lake."

"I see…" the old man trailed off, "come this way."

Sasuke followed the elder as he led him to the backroom, down into the basement, and through several tunnels, underneath Amegakure.

"Here is the requested room," the old man spoke as he quickly left the area.

The room was dark. Extremely dark. No lights were visible inside the room.

Sasuke took a step into the room, only to notice that when he did, several mounted torches on the walls lit up. The room contained several shelves filled with scrolls.

When Sasuke saw the scrolls in the room, he took another step forward, and the ground began to shake fervently. He looked to his left, with an eye raised and saw that a ramp was now in the ground, leading deeper into the core of the earth.

"What do we have here? A hawk who has returned to the nest? Or could it be that he just wants to use me for his own gain and then discard me once more?" questioned a slithering purple snake that crawled up the ramp to enter the newly lit room.

"I need to talk to Orochimaru." the Sasuke retorted.

"You are late. I was told you were a stickler for detail, but if you showed up late, then how will I know you can return the favor?"

Sasuke kneeled down to the snake and activated his sharingan. His right eye spun red and three tomoe appeared.

"You can trust that I will return the favor, snake."

"Very well," the purple snake hissed, but he had accepted the answer. "I shall reverse summon him right away, **Gyaku Kuchiyose no Jutsu**."

A tall, pale skinned man with a tan shirt, and a purple belt appeared in a ball of smoke in front of the snake.

"Hmm? Who could be calling for me?" Orochimaru rhetorically asked, as he turned around to face Sasuke.

"I never would have thought that my student would be returning to me."

"I need your help with a task, that is all," Sasuke bluntly replied.

"Why rush to things? We haven't seen each other in almost a year."

"I have no time, there are greater threats than what we faced."

Orochimaru sighed. It wasn't everyday that his former student came back to him for answers. Orochimaru was caught in a thought until Sasuke coughed. The snake sennin grinned at the thought of him needing something, as it would require him to return the favor.

"What do you need?"

The Uchiha paused before answering, carefully thinking out his words.

"I require a few things. The first of which is to have a second arm again."

Orochimaru smiled. "Do you remember when you asked me to revive the first four Hokage during the war? I had to cut open my stomach for the process to work. I was dying, and we had spare Zetsu clones around. I used my **Fushi Tensei** ability to transfer my being into that clone. At the time, it was a matter of life or death, but shortly after, my curiosity piqued and I became aware that I was able to use **Mokuton** , if only a small amount." Orochimaru paused. "I believe I still have some Zetsu clone bodies around so that I could implant an arm into your body, however, there is a chance your body can reject it, which could cause problems with your health."

"I do not care about my own health. Senju cells combined with an Uchiha's cells will make it so that I acquire a second Rinnegan," Sasuke stated with an asking intent.

"That's my leading hypothesis. You already have one of the Rinnegan implanted in your left eye. We'll have to see what happens when you have Senju cells as well."

"Very well," Sasuke's stance shifted, lightening up, as he went with Orochimaru to his laboratory deep within the tunnels.

"This will take a few hours, and you will be unconscious when I start."

"That's fine. Just don't mess it up."

"You should know by now that I rarely make mistakes."

After Orochimaru bantered back, he placed a breathing mask over Sasuke's mouth and injected him with a sedative that soon made the Uchiha unconscious.

* * *

The light was blinding when Sasuke opened up his eyes. He felt immediate pain to his left side. He looked over to his left to see an arm, bandaged, attached to his body. After a minute of looking at the bandaged arm, his right eye began to have strikingly painful seizures. He knew what kind of pain this was, after Obito had implanted Itachi's eyes into him, he had felt this kind of pain.

Closing his eye, Sasuke looked around for Orochimaru, only to see him watching some monitor across the room.

"You are awake," Orochimaru stated.

"I am," Sasuke's body stiffened. "What were the results of attaching this arm to my body?"

"Successful, for now. It might take a few days to fully observe the effects of the implantation."

"I don't have that much time."

"I figured, so I won't keep you, not like that I could anyways. Your body has also obtained a second Rinnegan. Even Obito Uchiha couldn't wield the two powers alone. If the First's powers were properly transferred through Zetsu's arm, you should be capable."

"Very well. I have a few more requests for you."

"And what would those be?"

"I need to obtain knowledge that only one person knows. I need to learn that jutsu," Sasuke said, as he put more emphasis on the word 'that'.

Orochimaru started to crackly laugh.

"I'm not in the mood, snake, do you have any available bodies I can use for it?"

"Don't get angry if I start to see a little bit of myself when I see you mature, Sasuke. I have a few more willing followers now then I have ever had, and I believe they will be of use for this."

"Let's get started then."

"Very well, follow me once more."

Before Orochimaru left the room, he grabbed a jar of blood from one of the shelves in the back, and quietly exited. As Sasuke rose to follow, limping to the exit. The pain in his eye had increased when he was conversing with Orochimaru.

They made their way over to where Orochimaru's subordinates were located, in which several students of his volunteered for the ritual.

Orochimaru grabbed an empty scroll from his pouch and opened it, revealing it's white contents with a summoning seal inside it. Orochimaru opened the jar of blood he took from the laboratory and smeared some of it onto the scroll. Orochimaru picked one of his students, and asked Sasuke to put him under a genjutsu.

After his student was placed in a different world, Orochimaru placed the scroll down onto the floor. Immediately following, the blood placed onto the scroll moved out and formed a seal around the student's body. Orochimaru then performed the snake hand seal which released the genjutsu on the student while simultaneously wrapping the student in paper and ash.

A moment passed, and the papers disappeared, leaving behind a fragile body of a Otogakure shinobi that Sasuke recognized from the Konoha Crush incident years ago.

Sasuke stared, eyes wide, in which he winced in pain from his newly acquired second Rinnegan. _This power will help me indefinitely_.

"This is the power of **Edo Tensei** , and it is a dangerous, perhaps the most dangerous, technique in the world," Orochimaru stated as he summoned a coffin to place the newly reincarnated shinobi inside of.

Sasuke finally regained his composure, and made his final request, "Do you still have Madara Uchiha's DNA?"

* * *

A/N:

Interesting things happening here! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I tried not to make Sasuke's reveal that obvious but, it happened. One of the great works that inspired me to write this was listening to the Naruto: Shippuden's OST of Hyouhaku and Kokuten COMBINED. It is a great masterpiece that portrays Sasuke perfectly. Also, who is T? Guess in the reviews! Also, I am still a little new to posting on FF so if I am missing anything or take a long time to respond to everyone, my apologies! Additionally, I have decided to split up this story as two "separate" perspectives. One of these is from Naruto's perspective, the other is from Sasuke's perspective. They will converge at one point, and probably merge into one perspective, so stay tuned for more chapters.

* * *

 **"Suiton: Suikōdan no Jutsu"**

Water Style: Water Shark Bomb Jutsu

 **"Doton: Dosekidake"**

Earth Release: Earthen Stone Shots

 **"Gyaku Kuchiyose no Jutsu"**

Reverse Summoning Technique

 **"Fushi Tensei"**

Living Corpse Reincarnation

 **"Mokuton"**

Wood Release

 **"Edo Tensei"**

Impure World Reincarnation


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I got lost on the road of life :). Furthermore, expect a new series to be dropped sometime soon. This doesn't mean I am abandoning this story because well, it is literally only 3 chapters long so far. Much work to be done and many exciting twists!

A/N: I don't own Naruto, Naruto: Shippuden, or any of it's characters. All Original Characters however, are my own work.

 _Italics: Thoughts of characters._

 **Bold: Ninjutsu/Misc**

* * *

 _Previously on "A New Leaf, Chapter I"_

'"There is another problem, Lady Hokage-sama," Kakashi started, "We have received reports that there has been increased activity within Otogakure…"'

 _"_ Have Shikamaru report to the office later. Dismissed."

* * *

 **A New Leaf**

Chapter III

Shikamaru scanned the white scroll in front of him, the contents darkened with black ink. After two minutes of reading through the report, he looked up to see the aging amber eyes of the Fifth Hokage. The Nara clan leader could see the moonlit backdrop surrounding the office.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru stated as he slumped back down in the seat that sat in front of the Hokage's desk.

"By my calculations and from the statistics reported, it seems like Otogakure has assembled quite a force in the last year or so," Shikamaru narrowed his eyes as he continued, "and it looks like they have been recruiting missing-nin and criminals at the very least."

"Could there be a chance that Orochimaru is not involved?" Tsunade questioned with a hint of sadness at the memory of her former teammate.

"Unlikely," Shikamaru hesitated, "to amass such a force in a small amount of time would require the work of a genius, and we both know that that description fits Orochimaru."

Tsunade sighed, and took a deep breath a moment afterwards.

"Have you read the casualty reports made by the Alliance?" Tsunade asked.

"I took the liberty to read the report in Sunagakure. The markup remained similar in our version. The war took a lot of lives. High calculations were around 65,000 casualties last time I checked, 40,000 in one day too, thanks to Madara Uchiha's **Tengai Shinsei** , and the other reincarnatedshinobi. Roughly 40% of those were fatalities. Which leaves the Alliance with 39,000 injured. From my time there, I know that Sunagakure put those who were injured on leave, and they haven't been put back on duty. I theorize that the other nations have also done the same."  
Shikamaru took a breath and resumed, "Thanks to Naruto's efforts, Academy students and Genin were not fighting in the war, but they are still not fit to be in any conflict with another village. All in all," Shikamaru sighed, "it leaves us with approximately 2,000 Chūnin, 500 Tokubetsu Jōnin, 250 ANBU, and 250 Jōnin still available for duty. 50 Shinobi will retire by the year's end."

"Exactly. We can't afford to do this alone, even if most of Oto's forces are just common criminals and thugs." Tsunade stood up from the chair behind the Hokage desk, her hands flat against the wooden surface.

"Send the ravens to the other Great Nations. I want to call a Kage Summit to address the situation, right here in Konoha."

"In Konohagakure, Lady Hokage-sama?" Shikamaru asked with his brows raised.

"Orochimaru is our problem. We will be the ones to determine his fate, nobody else will touch him."

"Understood, Lady Hokage-sama, is there anything else you need?"

"One more thing," Tsunade said as she took out a bottle of sake and a cigar from her desk drawer, "how about a light?"

* * *

Faint footsteps could be heard walking down an empty alleyway.

Kakashi Hatake couldn't sleep after what he just told the Nara clan head moments earlier. He knew that the Leaf, and possibly the entire Shinobi Alliance would get caught up in another conflict, although this time together as friends, not enemies. He considered that Orochimaru was involved, although he couldn't possibly see why— he had given up his ambitions to crush the leaf, or so Kakashi thought.

Turning left at the end of the alley, the silver haired shinobi looked around and saw that the newly rebuilt Yamanaka flower shop had lights on inside the building. _At this time at night? Why are they still open?_

The structure itself wasn't anything to grand. The building was lit by strings of lanterns covering the outside. It resembled what the old Yamanaka building looked like: big tan walls, dark red shutters, a moderate pink sign, and shrubbery on the outskirts of the building.

Bells rung as the Jōnin entered the shop, curious about what was going on.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" His voice rang out into the empty shop.

Suddenly, a loud crash was heard on what must have been the second floor of the building. Kakashi winced at the sound, and knew that his voice was the reason for it.

A blonde woman came running down the stairs, although Kakashi thought it was more like stomping rather than running.

"Who do you think you are busting in here like that?" she yelled as she finally came off the last step of the staircase.  
"Ino, relax," Kakashi got cut off.

"Because I will make sure you don't see the light of day tomorrow," the platinum blonde haired kunoichi stared at the Jōnin who stood in front of her.

"Kakashi-sensei, my apologies," Ino started off, "I didn't know that the door was still unlocked."

"The light was on. I wanted to make sure everything was alright," Kakashi said as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

A thought popped up in his head.

"Say, you wouldn't happen to have any purple lavenders, would you, Ino-san?"

Ino stood dazed for a quick moment, but came to her senses. She eyed the room and found the stand where some flowers were at. She pulled out a vase that had 3 purple lavenders in it.

"Here you go, Kakashi-sensei. The total isn't much, let me ring you up at the counter."

Kakashi left the Yamanaka flower shop, and started heading over to the third training ground where he initiated his students into the shinobi world.

Minutes passed, and Kakashi was already at the memorial stone. He knew all of the shortcuts in Konohagakure. He chuckled to himself, _I know the shortcuts of this rebuilt village already. Funny how this memorial didn't get destroyed by Pain's_ _ **Shinra Tensei**_ _._

Kakashi looked at the bright stone, the moonlight reflected off of it, and crouched down to read the recent names added. _Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, Neji Hyuga, Jiraiya, more names than I can memorize._ Kakashi looked up at some of the older names listed, _Obito Uchiha, Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hayate Gekkō, Asuma Sarutobi, Rin..._ ,Kakashi paused, _Rin Nohara._

Kakashi inhaled a long breath in. The Fourth War had surprised him in many ways, but Obito's unmasking did him in the most. Kakashi exhaled and stood up from his crouching position.

 _I guess it's never too late to visit the cemetery._ Kakashi solemnly thought as he started off towards the direction of the gravesite, just on the outskirts of town. The moonlit street had a decadent sparkle as the night dragged on.

Stopping at the entrance of the Konoha Cemetery, Kakashi silently opened the gate that was covering the entrance. He clutched the three lavender flowers that were still in his hand from the Yamanaka flower shop tightly as he walked up to a familiar grave.

Kakashi couldn't recall the number of times he went to this spot. It gave him eerily silence with a hint of somber peacefulness. _Hell, I lost count after the first three months after her death._

Kakashi stood there for what seemed like an hour, staring at the tombstone. It was a simple design Kakashi thought, only showing the name of the person buried beneath it, Konoha's leaf symbol in the middle, and a short transcription of their achievements, rank, and other miscellaneous items on the bottom. There were two flower containers on the left and right side of the tombstone. The containers were filled with pink roses, each almost at the end of their respective lives. Kakashi knew that the groundskeepers would come and restock the containers sooner or later, but his grip tightened even more on the squeezed lavenders in his hand. The tombstone in front of him read:

"Rin Nohara  
Chūnin — Konohagakure  
'Gave the ultimate sacrifice for her team, village, and the people closest to her. The Will of Fire lives on because of her duty and commitment.'"

Kakashi made a quick prayer, bowed, and placed a single lavender in the middle of the tombstone. He sighed and turned about, continuing his solemn walk home.

* * *

The Hatake stood before the door to his apartment. Kakashi quietly placed his hand into his pocket and fumbled around for the key. When he finally grabbed the correct one, he opened the door that led into a dark apartment. Sighing once again, Kakashi reached his arm out and flipped a switch to his left. Bright lights flashed on, and Kakashi could see his living room. If any of his friends or students were to look inside his apartment, they probably wouldn't be able to tell it was his from the lack of distinction: no decor, the only pictures he had were in his private bedroom, bland furniture. It wasn't much, as he didn't need anything particularly important for such a room— he would barely be home before too long, anyways.

Kakashi didn't bother to take too long in his living room. Once he had entered his household, the entire place seemed small, he thought. The silver haired Jōnin took out a vase from his kitchen and filled it with water. He placed the two remaining lavenders he had collected from the Yamanaka shop into the vase. Satisfied with the result, he placed the vase on the table in the living room and went to the bedroom.

Kakashi stripped off his gear. He loosened the headband that had covered his eye. Next, he reached to his shoulders to take the clipped green padding off. He unzipped the green flak jacket he had customarily worn throughout most of his life, representing his Jōnin rank, and folded the jacket neatly. He then took off the finger-less gloves he wore. Following his gloves, he began to work at his dark blue long-sleeved shirt, which included his mask. The red Uzushiogakure symbol could be distinctly seen on the right shoulder of the shirt. Quickly folding the shirt and setting it next to the flack jacket, Kakashi took off his sandals and pants. He found himself almost fully naked, and began to stare at the mirror.

He could see his full body. The scar across his left eye, the droopy bags underneath those said eyes, the biceps and abs that formed over countless hours of training, scars across his chest and legs. He took it all in like some sort of sadistic ritual, but Kakashi knew better than to call it that. There was something off however, that Kakashi noticed. He looked over at his left shoulder, chuckling.

"I almost missed it," Kakashi said to himself. He moved his right hand to touch the small, red flame tattoo that had been left over from his ANBU career.

Kakashi moved from the mirror to the bathroom and turned the silver knob in the shower. He placed a towel on a rack, and stepped inside the shower, the warm bullets of water were hitting his body.

The veteran shinobi stood in the shower, letting the water collide with his body, for quite a bit. Taking the usual precautions and washing his body, Kakashi turned the knob to the off position and stepped out and wrapped the towel around his body. He looked into the mirror which was covered in fog. A blurred vision of himself was presently looking back at him. He didn't feel refreshed from his shower. He felt like everything was still on his shoulders. He didn't feel like a hero, a saviour. He couldn't save one of his students. He was still out there, alone, not in the warmth of a village. _Warmth of a village?_ _Whatever that is supposed to mean_ , Kakashi considered. His village had deemed his student's clan too dangerous for the potential coup that was being plotted and killed them.

Kakashi knew that this thinking would only get him deeper into some crazed thought. He stopped himself from allowing it to consume his mentality and noted to leave those questions and answers to the philosophers. He took another glance of the blurred figure that was in his mirror and went back into the bedroom.

Kakashi opened his closet door, and he saw dozens of dark blue pajama shirts and pants, alongside dozens of his usual uniform attire. However, what had caught his attention was the old, beat-up, black chest sitting in the corner of his closet. He hadn't thought about that chest in years. It had a silver padlock on it, _like that would do much_ , but the rest of the exterior was just black. The edges looked torn, rough even.

Kakashi sighed, and grabbed the chest. _Heavier than I expected._

He observed his bedroom before setting down the chest. He had made his bed completely straight, clean, and folded. His clothes that he had just took off were folded neatly on the opposite side, and the room had no dust. He moved the chest over to the bed and hesitated for a moment. Shaking his head, he broke the padlock and opened the chest.

A porcelain white mask with red and black markings was at the top of the pile. The shape of the mask was in the form of his summoning, a dog. He touched the front of the white mask. He knew that this specific mask had been the terrors of other villages. He had been the terror.

Kakashi moved the mask outside of the chest, and onto the bed next to his Jōnin uniform. What came next shocked Kakashi, if only for a short period of time. He couldn't quite remember how this piece of the past came into his chest, but nevertheless, it was there, mocking him. A straight-bladed **tantō** was sitting on top of his former uniform. The hand guard was small and circular. This sword, passed down to him by his father, Sakumo Hatake, proved useful in multiple occasions, Kakashi painfully remembered. Whenever it struck, a gleaming white streak of chakra would be given off. It had been destroyed once, but Kakashi had it repaired. _Impossible. It was lost after I resigned from the ANBU_ , Kakashi remembered.

Taking the tantō, he placed it next to the porcelain mask. He grabbed the old ragged uniform that was also in the chest. He held out the first item, a sleeveless dark blue shirt, which was customized for his standard face mask that he wore. The next item was his matching dark blue pants that went all the way to his ankles, or at least it used to when he was younger. Kakashi thought about it for a moment. He knew that he grew from his ANBU years, taller, and possibly bigger. The muscles in his arms and legs had grown as he grew older.

He paused mid thought. _No. I won't. I gave that life up years ago. I have students and friends to care about—_ He cut himself off when he glanced into his bedroom mirrors, which were not affected by the bathroom fog. He could see his body, almost all of it, the towel was still wrapped around him, but he also had held up the dark blue outfit that was currently in his hands. The reflection in the mirror seemed to urge him on to try on the old remnant uniform.

Without a second thought, he folded the towel neatly onto the bed and began to slip the shirt on, over his head, and the arms through the remaining two holes. Next, was the pants, which had gone up through his legs and towards his waist. They were tight, and his hypotheses of growing was underestimated, he amusingly thought.

With his blue uniform on, he turned back towards the chest and took out the standard ANBU grey flak jacket. The jacket felt lighter than what he remembered as he clipped on the jacket and once more looked up to the mirror.

His pants were tight, the shirt was too small, and the flak jacket was stiff, but he was able to see clearly through his reflection. His hair complimented the dark blue uniform along with the grey flak jacket, Kakashi thought while his right hand went through his hair. At that moment, he saw it again, the red tattoo, begrudgingly staring at him. Kakashi took a few steps back, almost colliding with the bed, his eyes locked with the tattoo's reflection. He turned away from the mirror and towards the bed, where he picked up the white porcelain mask and attached it to the front of his head.

Kakashi's mind flashed back earlier in the day, a purple haired kunoichi came into his vision. _"I've come to reactivate myself into the ANBU Interrogation force."  
_  
Kakashi knew what he had to do. He turned toward the door and left the room, and soon his apartment, and headed toward the Hokage Mansion. _This tattoo will no longer give Kakashi Hatake a stare, but rather an agent who has no name._

* * *

A/N: Kakashi-centric chapter this time! I hope you enjoyed my allusion to the "normal" Kakashi's "death" and ANBU Kakashi's "rebirth"— the characteristics of suicide: having everything be clean and neat, not being able to see himself (in the mirror's reflection before putting the ANBU gear on). If you take note in this chapter, he placed one lavender flower on Rin's grave, but kept 2 others... Might be important!

* * *

 **"Tengai Shinsei"**

Shattered Heaven

 **"Shinra Tensei"**

Almighty Push

 **"Tantō"**

Short Sword


	4. Chapter 4? Chapter 1 Rewritten

Please check out my new story, titled, "A New Leaf" as this one is the (old) version!

A/N: More info at the end of this chapter. But hello! Welcome back to this marvelous world. Sorry I haven't updated in forever (again more info on this at the end). Some warnings right off the gate: This is rated M. There will be dark moments, character deaths, fights, cursing (although not to the point where it is literally every word said), etc… Nothing too lemony, no outright bloody gore. With that being said, please enjoy the story of how I would write after Naruto Shippuden in this universe.

 _Italics_ are for thoughts of characters.

 _Underline + Italics_ are for the setting.

 **Bold** words are various forms of Techniques, or anything I feel important to highlight at the end of the chapter. You can find the translations of the techniques at the end of the chapter, right before the author notes.

Disclaimer: I wish I owned Naruto, however, I do not. Kishimoto is a based dude. This work is fictitious and any resemblance to anything outside of these chapters or the Naruto Universe is purely coincidental.

* * *

 **A New Leaf**

 **Chapter I**

* * *

 _Training Ground #3, Konohagakure, 1 Year After the Fourth Great Shinobi War_

A crackle of thunder and the appearance of lightning erupted from a point in the grassy area of the training ground. Two silhouettes of men could be seen standing nearby, one taller than the other. The taller one, with spiky hair, held out his right hand, which was supported by his left, and called upon the forces of chakra to shape into lightning.

Naruto Uzumaki could barely contain the enormous smile as he watched his sensei, Kakashi, perform another round of his newly crafted Jutsu, **Shiden**. A mastercrafted jutsu to combat the inefficiencies of the **Raikiri**. The Shiden, now a purple variant of lightning, could be used as a ranged Jutsu, and did not have the drawbacks of tunnel vision that the Raikiri had.

As Kakashi motioned his hand to perform the new Jutsu, waves of purple lightning came over his right hand as he pushed it out towards a lone tree, an arch of lightning spliced a nearby tree in half.

"Well… I think it works, for now. I might be able to modify it for different combat scenarios for future use, like what Sasuke did with his **Chidori** ," Kakashi held for a moment, and sighed, "What do you think, Naruto?"

"Kakashi-sensei, that was great! You developed this Jutsu in only 3 months, soon you won't even need to use both hands!"

"Mah, let's not get ahead of ourselves. There is still a long time for perfection," Kakashi stuck his hands in his pockets and raised his brows, "would you like to spar?"

A creeping smile came on Naruto's lips. It wasn't everyday that his sensei offered to spar with him, especially since Kakashi had lost his Sharingan. He looked the older shinobi in the eyes and gave a boldful nod.

"Let's set some ground rules, Naruto. First—"  
"I know, I know, no use of Kurama's chakra cloak, or sage mode. I have been practicing with more Jutsu too, you know! The rasengan may be powerful, but I need more weapons in my arsenal if I want to be Hokage!"

"You're starting to think like an actual shinobi, Naruto. What made you switch to that?"

Naruto paused. It's not like he _wanted_ to only use the rasengan, it was just that it was _super_ powerful and useful. _It even got more useful when I combined it with my wind affinity. But a Hokage needs to learn all types of Jutsu, like Ojīsan Sandaime,_ Naruto thought to himself.

"I need to be able to use a ton of techniques before becoming Hokage, right? That's why I am learning more and more jutsu, becoming Hokage and protecting my people!"

Looking over towards the heart of the training ground they were standing in, Naruto reminisced back to the days of Genin Team 7. The infamous bell test that his sensei had administered taught him how to make teamwork work, even if it still took years for him to finally realize it.

All of a sudden, Naruto was by himself, alone, in the midst of the training grounds. Kunai came speeding towards him from the trees to his left, while a giant shuriken came at him from the right. Naruto reacted quickly, forming three hand seals, Dog, Horse, and finally, Bird, he took in a deep breath and called out to his wind affinity.

" **Fūton: Toppa** "

A gust of wind came before him, surrounding the blonde teen, and threw the projectiles to the ground before they were able to hit Naruto.

"You're going to have to try harder than that, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled, as he formed his signature move with a cross seal. Two shadow clones now stood besides Naruto, and they quickly dispersed throughout the grounds.

Kakashi analyzed the move. His own shadow clones were behind the trees, however, he only had a couple active, and they wouldn't last as long as Naruto's, since he didn't use them as much as Naruto did. However, the lack of a Sharingan always active in his left eye meant that he had more chakra than what he was normally allocated.

At that moment, his clone to the left was found by Naruto's shadow clone. Kakashi's clone jumped back and with absurd speed formed the Snake hand seal, followed by Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, and Tiger. Oil formed in the clone's mouth, as he released it as a bullet, which erupted into flames. The **Katon: Endan** , was something he learned from Jiraiya, but he didn't have the luxury of a toad summon— _summons! My ninken is something that Naruto would have to forcibly retreat from,_ Kakashi planned _._

However, in a bundle of smoke, Kakashi's left clone dispersed, and the thoughts went back to the original Kakashi. The last thing the clone saw, according to it's memories, were Naruto using his fingers to transmit a slashing blade of wind. _Ah, the_ _ **Kaze no Yaiba**_ _, one he must've learned while he was in Suna._

Realizing that it was only a matter of time before the real Kakashi was found, he bit his thumb and placed it on the ground, the **Kuchiyose no Jutsu** , formed a seal on the ground, which summoned the all too familiar scent of his ninken.

"What's up boss?" Pakkun questioned.

Kakashi held up his hand and formed a symbol that stood for silence, and formed another symbol for training.

The ninken all saw, and nodded their heads. They knew that Kakashi was taking this 'training' seriously, and that he must've been doing it with someone powerful, powerful enough to warrant their boss' attention.

Kakashi signaled to disperse and await further instructions, but requested Pakkun stay with him. He would need a fast traveler that could burrow underground to transmit orders.

The fire to his left was still burning, and he was sure Naruto had retracted his clone from that area. He focused his attention to his right clone, observing what was happening over there.

Kakashi's clone kicked Naruto up into the air, and appeared directly behind, causing Naruto's eyes to widen. The clone then grabbed Naruto's ankles, wrapped his legs around his waist, and plummeted to the ground. A technique which mimicked the Front Lotus.

Both 'bodies' disappeared, and a cloud of smoke emerged from both of them. _I won't win this with shadow clones_. _And Naruto did use a powerful wind Jutsu to slice my shadow clone…_

Kakashi quickly told Pakkun to go to where his other ninken were and strike out at Naruto's legs. _With that,_ he thought, _I can trap the real Naruto and potentially end this training session_.

Naruto stood in the middle of the training ground. He knew that Kakashi wasn't going to just jump out into the open to attack him, and he used that as his advantage. His shadow clones were able to go and cover places that Kakashi could have been hiding, and in fact, that's exactly what they did, all while Naruto had his eyes around the entire training ground.

Exactly in the amount of time it took for Naruto to identify where Kakashi had to be, in revelation that the weapons thrown at him in the beginning were provided by clones, four dogs..."not dogs— ninken,"Naruto said to himself, attached themselves to his feet and legs, making Naruto unable to move. Once more, Naruto's eyes widened as Kakashi came into the clearing, his right hand had purple lightning attached to it.

"Give up, Naruto," the only words that Kakashi uttered.

Naruto chuckled, and responded back to his teacher, "Kakashi-sensei, once again you outsmarted me. But I can't just give up!"

Kakashi sighed, and thought to himself, _Naruto can heal quickly, this won't kill him._

Kakashi lunged forth his hand, and his lightning sprung forward towards where Naruto was held. There was a crack, and something was burning, and smelled like… smelled like _burning wood?_

A log replaced the body of Naruto who was just immobilized, the lightning cracked against it, tore off a chunk, and left half of the log sizzled.

Kakashi sighed, _Outsmarted by Naruto,_ and then he started to chuckle at that fact.

Naruto appeared quickly behind him, with a kunai to his throat.

"Kakashi-sensei, give up," Naruto playfully mocked his teacher.

"Well, no need to continue, you clearly won this time."

Claps were heard in the distance, and both shinobi turned towards to sound. Sakura and Hinata were watching the session.

"Well Hinata, Naruto sure has grown stronger without the need for Sage mode or Kurama's chakra," Sakura said and playfully tapped Hinata's shoulder.

Hinata blushed, her face now pink.

"I am sure Naruto-kun has grown quite stronger," but that just made Hinata's face deepen color.

Sakura laughed, and waved over to her sensei and friend.

"Why don't you two come join us for some lunch?" Sakura asked.

Naruto's eyes, for a third time this morning, widened. He looked towards Kakashi, almost pleading him to tag along. His eyes piercing into the dark exterior of Kakashi's face.

"Fine, fine, I'll come too," and as soon as he said that, he almost regretted it as Naruto nearly stepped on his feet by bouncing around sporadically.

* * *

 _Ichiraku Ramen Shop, Konohagakure_

The jingle of bells sounded as Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, and Kakashi entered Ichiraku Ramen, a place held in high esteem ever since Naruto rose to fame. It is unrecognisable from it's previous appearances. The fame made it grow, and with it's and the village's growth, has transformed the little shop into a bustling restaurant.

An older man wearing a white chef's hat, with a grey apron was standing not too far off from the entrance behind the counter. His face had dark, defined wrinkles, and his hair that was visible was brown with a hint of grey seeping in.

Teuchi looked at where the bells were chiming at, his mouth lifted into a smile at the sight of yellow hair and an orange track jacket. The person who was always at his shop, Naruto Uzumaki, once again, was wandering inside.

"Naruto! Welcome back. How many today?" Teuchi asked.

The famous yellow haired ninja replied, "Ah, Ojīsan, there's myself, Hinata-chan, Sakura-chan, and Kakashi-sensei."

"Great, Ayame will get you seated shortly."

The four were seated at a booth in the back, reserved for the highest esteemed patrons, although they all thought it wasn't necessary, Ayame insisted. Naruto and Hinata sat in the left section of the booth while Kakashi and Sakura sat themselves in the right section. The booths themselves were quite comfortable, and Hinata commented that their luxurious table seemed like mahogany wood.

Ayame came back over to their table to get their order of drinks. Hinata and Sakura both ordered water, while Naruto requested for lemonade, and Kakashi coffee. They were all smiling, enjoying the quality time spent. It had been ages since the war, but the effects that lingered were visible. Civilians were more wary of shinobi, the villages were still rebuilding, and the missions were dwindling.

But as time passed on, the group didn't worry about those issues. They were in the moment, and were being hysterical with one another. Better to leave those problems with the political higher-ups.

Sakura chimed in after a round of laughter subsided from a joke Naruto made.

"So, Hinata and Naruto, are you guys… together?"

Hinata looked down, hiding her flushed red face, and stealthily glanced towards Naruto, whose face was scrunched up quizzically as if trying to answer a quantum mechanics question.

After a momentary silence, Naruto responded.

"Well…" Naruto began, "we are sitting next together, if that's what you mean."

Kakashi, Hinata, and Sakura's faces all deadpanned, if only for an instance, because Sakura's fist barely reached Naruto's face before Kakashi stopped her.

"Woah, Sakura-chan. I was just joking," Naruto laughed, and sheepishly rubbed his head, "This will be our third date."

Sakura sighed and brought her fist back, "Naruto, if you weren't such a fool I wouldn't have almost punched you!"

"Now Sakura, I am sure Naruto was just in the mood to make jokes, no need to get worked up on it," Kakashi added.

Hinata, feeling the courage to speak up, said, "Kakashi-sensei is right. Naruto-kun was just being… Naruto-kun."

And with that statement, everyone laughed, including Sakura.

"Say, Sakura-chan, when is Sasuke coming back from his 'atonement,'" Naruto made a disgruntled face at that word, "trip?"

"I haven't heard anything. Not even a single letter," Sakura looked to the side, "but I have hope that he will be back soon."

"I hope so too, Sakura-chan."

* * *

 _Village Entrance, Konohagakure_

Shikamaru Nara walked along a path in the forest outside of Konohagakure. _Springtime?_ Shikamaru thought, as he walked through a stone path. _Has it already been a year?_ A brisk wind grew, and Shikamaru noticed something fall to the ground. _A new leaf? Plucked out of a nearby tree? The wind… what a pain._ The genius shinobi let out a deep sigh, and continued walking towards the main gate of the village he called home. _Wind_ , Shikamaru chuckled, _and I thought I left her in Suna._

"Hey!" Izumo shouted, "it's Shikamaru," greeted the village gate guards, Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane, the inseparable shinobi.

"Oh? Kotetsu, Izumo, hey," Shikamaru replied back.

"How was your stay in Suna," Izumo asked.

"Oh... nothing bad in particular. The Kazekage is planning on enhancing the villages technology, making trade deals, the boring tidbits. It is troublesome, really. Almost all work, no time for relaxation."

Shikamaru stepped into his village after passing the enormous gates for the first time in little under a year. Being the ambassador to Sunagakure made him realize how much he missed the refreshing grass and air that Konoha offered.

He sighed. _Now that I am home on leave, it seems I might be bored. What a pain._

Shikamaru's boredom, however, was put on hold. His jaw slightly dropped, as he saw that Konoha had easily surpassed Suna in its attempt to enhance itself technologically. Off in the distance, he easily spotted the Hokage Rock, and behind it, tall skyscraper-like structures were on their way to being built, modeled after scaffoldings in their absence.

Shikamaru laughed, _It seems like the Godaime really stepped up while I was gone, or maybe it's because she had some inspiration. Speaking of Tsunade-sama, I should report to her that I have arrived back._

Shikamaru knocked on a large door, covered by artwork of fire. The Hokage's office had certainly improved since the last visit he had, which included the door frame destroyed by a punching blow Tsunade gave before he entered. _This time, however, it seems even Tsunade wouldn't destroy this symbol._

Through the large door and thick walls, he heard a frightening scream-like command.

"Come in," the piercing voice called out.

Shikamaru instantly recognised the voice as the Godaime Hokage, Tsunade-sama. He entered the office, preparing mentally everything that was about to go down. _She will ask what took so long. What more did I learn about them. What was Suna's reaction. What do we do about him..._

"Welcome back, Shikamaru," the blonde Sannin gestured for Shikamaru to take a seat in front of her desk.

"Good afternoon, Godaime-sama," Shikamaru bowed, "here is my report on Sunagakure technological and economic advancements in the last year."

"Good, thank you," Tsunade replied, "Shikamaru, did you like your assignment to Suna?"

"Well," Shikamaru started, "it got to be a little boring after a few months. Without anything too problematic, the shinobi world doesn't have that many incentives anymore."

"A lot of people, especially in Konoha, would consider that a good thing, Shikamaru."

"I know, I think it's good too, but our lives are based around being shinobi. It will be difficult to live without any high class missions and money. Raising prices on our lower tier missions will only result in fewer being submitted," Shikamaru sighed, "at the current rate, it shouldn't be that bad, but in the future, we might be really dry."

Tsunade laid her hands on the table. She smiled at Shikamaru, which caught the Nara boy off guard.

"Your insight is phenomenal, Shikamaru, and because of that, I would like to extend the offer of being one of my personal advisors to the Hokage office, and the Jōnin Commander."

Shikamaru was visibly stunned. His mouth went gaped, but he quickly closed it before his superior could see it.

"Hokage-sama, as my father was the Chief Strategist of the Allied Shinobi Alliance, serving as the Hokage's advisor seems to be the best tribute to him. I fully accept these positions."

"Excellent, we are still rebuilding and reconstructing most things around here, and as my new advisor, I would like you to set up a meeting with the clan leaders and Jōnin. We have many things to discuss about the future of this village."

"Understood, Hokage-sama. Anything else?"

"One more thing. The Torture and Interrogation Unit has a captured… person, in their cells. I would like for you and your former partner, Ino Yamanaka, to interrogate this prisoner and extract every detail from them. More information can be found in this scroll," Tsunade picked up a scroll laying on her desk and extended her arm to hand it to Shikamaru.

Shikamaru scanned the white scroll in front of him, the contents darkened with black ink. After two minutes of reading through the report, he looked up to see the aging amber eyes of the Godaime Hokage. The Nara clan leader could see the afternoon backdrop surrounding the office.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru stated as he slumped back down in the seat that sat in front of the Hokage's desk.

"By these calculations and from the statistics reported from the Allied Headquarters, it seems like Kusagakure has assembled quite a force in the last year or so," Shikamaru narrowed his eyes as he continued, "and it looks like they have been recruiting missing-nin and criminals at the very least."

"What could this mean," Tsunade questioned with a hint of sadness at the memory of the previous wars she has been in.

"I can't make anything from it at this point," Shikamaru hesitated, "to amass such a force in a small amount of time would require the work of a genius, with incredible influence. Only a small set of people are still left in this world to fit that description."

Tsunade sighed, and took a deep breath a moment afterwards.

"Have you read the casualty reports made by the Alliance?" Tsunade asked.

"I took the liberty to read the report in Sunagakure. The markup remained similar in our version. The war took a lot of lives. High calculations were around 65,000 casualties last time I checked, 40,000 in one day too, thanks to Madara Uchiha's **Tengai Shinsei** , and the other reincarnatedshinobi. Roughly 40% of those figures were fatalities. Which leaves the Alliance with 39,000 either out of commision or still pretty injured. From my time there, I know that Sunagakure put those who were injured on leave, and they haven't been put back on duty. I theorize that the other nations have also done the same."  
Shikamaru took a breath and resumed, "Thanks to Naruto's efforts, Academy students and Genin were not fighting in the war, but they are still not fit to be in any conflict with another village. All in all," Shikamaru sighed, "it leaves us with approximately 2,000 Chūnin, 500 Tokubetsu Jōnin, 250 ANBU, and 250 Jōnin still available for duty. Approximately 50 Shinobi can retire by the year's end."

"Exactly. We can't afford to do this alone, even if most of Kusa's forces are just common criminals and thugs." Tsunade stood up from the chair behind the Hokage desk, her hands flat against the wooden surface.

"Send the ravens to the other Great Nations. I want to call a Kage Summit to address the situation."

"The new Headquarters is in the Land of Iron, we will need to put together a team to escort you," Shikamaru remarked with his brows raised.

"Understood, I will address this with the meeting of clan leaders and Jōnin."

"Before you leave, Shikamaru," Tsunade said as she took out a bottle of sake and a cigar from her desk drawer, "how about a light?"

* * *

 **-Shiden**

Purple Lightning

 **-Raikiri**

Lightning Blade

 **-Chidori**

One Thousand Birds

 **-Fūton: Toppa**

Wind Release: Breakthrough

 **-Katon: Endan**

Fire Release: Flame Bullet

 **-Kaze no Yaiba**

Blade of Wind

 **-Kuchiyose no Jutsu**

Summoning Jutsu

 **-Tengai Shinsei**

Shattered Heaven

* * *

A/N: WOW. I am back, with a rewrite to the first few chapters of a fanfic I started half a year ago. I always struggle with releasing something, and then telling myself it isn't perfect, so I scrap the idea, or I try really hard to fix it. The same thing happened with this story, but I feel much more confident now. The next couple of chapters will be rewrites of "A New Leaf" and will be venturing more into that world. One of my gripes with my original few chapters was that they were very short, and reading it could be a breeze and that made me feel like I had to redo them, so I stopped making new chapters and tried to focus on reforming the first few chapters.

My writing style, I feel like, is something akin to a fantasy-realistic (probably just made that up) type. I like to give characters a sensible approach (unless that character is someone like Naruto), to most things, while keeping the 'Naruto universe' feel to it. I kind of hate fanfics that overemphasize people being stupid, harsh, dumb, godlike, etc… Which brings me to a point that I find myself asking all the time: "Why don't I just make a fanfiction so I can put everything I like into one story?" Because, after searching through FFN for awhile now, there aren't that many top tier fics that I extremely like. There are some out there, but I find the majority of fanfics unrealistic, off putting (anything that bashes characters, creates hardcore killer freaks, doesn't have good spelling/grammar (in before I mistyped or failed at English on a sentence)), etc… Maybe I just have high standards, but that's just me :).

I would like to warn you all that I have some very 'nasty' (or great depending on who you are) ideas coming up for this fanfic, which is why it is rated M. (This does not mean lemons, gore, or any of that, HOWEVER, there will be a few character deaths that might shock you. Honestly, I think character deaths, done in meaningful ways (like Jiraiya) is very healthy for a series, contributes to character growth, and makes the viewer shocked and interested to find out what happens next, even if we like that character).

Some people may ask the following: "How will you deal with the power levels of Sasuke and Naruto?"

I think I have a very good solution to that, and you'll have to keep reading to find out :).

"Pairings?" Well, I previously stated that I dislike the Sasuke-Sakura pairing. I found it pretty abusive and unrealistic. So I don't think that will happen in this world. Sasuke has too much baggage, and has treated Sakura like dirt. However, this will all be played out in the future. (Although I did read a fanfic that is probably in my highest tier of favorite fanfics that had an absolute heart breaking chapter of having Sasuke go to Naruto and Sakura's wedding and had the reader able to read his thoughts and feelings. It made me feel really bad for him, even when figuring in all the terrible stuff he has done.)

As for Naruto, well, you already know that Hinata and him have been dating (at least three times!). After that, they are pretty much similar to the OG Naruto Universe. However, I will make Kakashi find someone!

I am still pretty new to publishing and responding on FFN, so if you have anything you would like to ask, please PM me!


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